Published October 03, 2016 FoxNews.com Facebook Twitter livefyre Email Print (Chevrolet) Chevrolet is entering the silent service. The automaker has built a hydrogen-powered truck for the U.S. Army that generates its own electricity with an onboard fuel cell. The heavily-modified Chevrolet Colorado-based rig is powered by a 174 horsepower electric motor that can drive all four wheels while making hardly any noise and keeping a low thermal profile compared to an internal combustion engine. Related Image Expand / Contract (Chevrolet) Hydrogen tanks and a small battery are installed where the bed of the Colorado would normally be, along with a power-take-off unit that provides electricity for equipment in the field. Meanwhile, water emissions produced by the fuel cell’s operation can be collected and used by troops for drinking, or keeping that mean bodywork clean in the driest of regions. Related Image Expand / Contract (Chevrolet) With its stealthy characteristics, lifted body, 37-inch tires, and an extreme off-road suspension, the ZH2 is envisioned as more as a patrol and reconnaissance vehicle than a replacement for a general purpose vehicle like the Humvee. Related Image Expand / Contract Chevrolet ( ) The project is a collaborative effort between Chevrolet and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, which will take delivery of the ZH2 in early 2017 before putting it through a year-long evaluation in a variety of environments. It builds on technology that General Motors originally developed for a fleet of hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinoxes that have been undergoing on road testing for nearly a...

Published September 10, 2016 FoxNews.com Facebook Twitter livefyre Email Print The driver of a 2004 Toyota 4Runner went off the top floor of a 9-story parking garage in downtown Austin, Texas. (Austin Fire Department) A 24-year-old man was helped to safety from his dangling SUV high above a downtown street in the Texas capital in a harrowing experience caught on video. The vehicle was driven off the top floor of a nine-story parking garage in downtown Austin Friday and the motorist escaped unharmed with the assistance of two bystanders, Fox 7 Austin reports. The Austin Fire Department said the man was “miraculously” able to climb out of the sunroof and make his way safely back into the garage. The car was running the whole time and leaked a small amount of gas, the station reported. The man was behind the wheel of a 2004 Toyota 4Runner and was attempting to pull into a parking spot. The vehicle failed to stop and rolled off the edge where it was caught on the barrier wire, the station reported. A large crowd watched as it took firefighters three hours to lower the running car to the street. “We just took our time,” Battalion Chief Palmer Buck told Fox 7. “We had to keep it away from the building. We had some electrical conduit and a water line that we wanted to make sure it didn’t break on the way down.” Click here for more from Fox 7...

Published September 07, 2016 Facebook Twitter Email Print (Global Vehicle Trust) Next Meet the Ox, the world’s first flat-pack truck. It’s an all-terrain vehicle that’s been designed by an F1 ace to be low-cost and able to tackle the world’s toughest environments. Unveiled today, the ‘ultimate MPV’ aims to reach the 80% of the world’s population who don’t benefit from motor vehicles. “I had the idea while in the bath,” said the 82-year-old inventor, Sir Torquil Norman, speaking to Sun Motors. “This could be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, or it could change the world.” The Ox is a multi-purpose truck that can carry 13 people, 1,900kg of cargo and even double up as an ambulance. The aim is noble, to change the lives of millions of people in developing countries. To save on delivery costs, it arrives in a flat-pack. It takes three people under 12 hours to assemble it with a toolkit of just 40 spanners. If you can handle an IKEA chest of drawers, you should be able to build a truck. While it looks like a Tonka toy, the simplistic design in ingenious, the work of ex-F1 design guru Prof Gordon Murray. “If people say it’s ‘crude’ I take that as a compliment. It had to be low cost and rugged. Just making it flat pack took nine months. “It’s like a kid’s Transformers toy.. It’s the vehicle I’m most proud of. And my career is littered with revolutionary stuff.” The Ox is packed with great design features. Like the centralized steering wheel, so it works in countries that drive on the left and right. Or the plywood panels that can be assembled with just one Allen key. Drivers can add engine fluids from the cabin. The tailgate comes off to form a ramp for heavy cargo. And the rear seats double up as sand ladders in case your vehicle gets stuck. “It’s the lowest cost off-road vehicle in the world,” said Murray. It has influential backers, like car-mad Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason: “This is great. It’s the closest thing to the Ford Model T – it could change society.” By providing low-cost mobility, the Ox aims to tackle poverty and ill health in the developing world. It’s able to carry twice the load of similar vehicles, and it’s the length of a Skoda Yeti. It can drive through 75 cm depth of water and has a very wide track to ensure excellent...

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Published August 23, 2016 Auto Reuters Facebook Twitter Print Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday the company will offer a larger upgraded battery pack for performance versions of its Model S and X vehicles that will extend range and allow for super fast acceleration. The new 100 kilowatt hour battery pack means high end versions of the Model S sedan, called the P 100D, will be the world’s fastest accelerating car in production, the Silicon Valley automaker said. “These are very profound milestones and I think will help convince people around the world that electric is the future,” said Musk on a conference call with journalists. The new battery extends the range of performance versions of the new Model S beyond 300 miles (482.8 km), Tesla said. Musk said that if the weather is not too hot, a driver could travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles without recharging. After rising 2.1 percent to $227.71 in afternoon trade, shares dipped from session highs to $224.87, up less than 1 percent. News of the upgrade comes as the all-electric car maker lays the groundwork for a controversial buyout of SolarCity Corp , while it also prepares for next year’s launch of its high profile Model 3 mass-market vehicle. SolarCity agreed to...

Posted by admin on Aug 29, 2016 in Auto News | Comments Off on Under pressure: The Ford GT’s steering secret revealed

By Gary Gastelu Published August 26, 2016 FoxNews.com Facebook Twitter livefyre Email Print (Ford) The Ford GT is a $400,000-plus high-performance supercar filled with the latest technology. It has a racing style carbon fiber chassis and pushrod suspension, carbon fiber bodywork, carbon-ceramic brakes, a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and a direct-injected twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 that pumps out at least 600 horsepower. Why “at least?” Because Ford hasn’t revealed all of the GT’s secrets yet. This hasn’t stopped it from already selling out the first 500 cars it plans to build starting later this year. Related Image Expand / Contract (Ford) One neat tidbit that has trickled out is that the GT features an old-school hydraulic power steering assist, much to the delight of the kind of enthusiasts willing to buy an exotic car before they even know the exact price or get a chance to drive it. Automakers have been making the shift to electric assist in recent years because it’s more energy efficient and easier to equip with computer-controlled self-steering systems. Skilled drivers would rather take matters into their own hands, however, and prefer the more natural feedback that hydraulic assist provides. Brands like Ferrari and McLaren have stuck with it for just this reason. But that’s not why it ended up in the...

Posted by admin on Aug 29, 2016 in Auto News | Comments Off on Amazon Vehicles aims to take the confusion out of car shopping

By Stephen Edelstein Published August 25, 2016 Facebook Twitter Email Print A car is just about the only thing you can’t buy on Amazon, but the online retail giant hopes to make the process a little easier with a new service. Amazon Vehicles gives users access to detailed information on new and used cars, along with existing Amazon features like customer reviews and a cross-referencing tool for parts and accessories. Car shoppers can use the information they find on...

Published August 24, 2016 FoxNews.com Facebook Twitter livefyre Email Print (Volvo Trucks) Same day delivery? Sorry, too slow. Volvo Trucks has built the world’s quickest semi-tractor. The Iron Knight is a purpose-designed, 10,000-pound sprinter powered by a quad-turbocharged 13-liter diesel engine that cranks out 2,400 horsepower and 4,425 pound-feet of torque. It’s fiberglass bodywork is formed to feed and cool the beast with air. Related Image Expand / Contract (Volvo Trucks) The engine is mid-mounted in the chassis –...

Posted by admin on Aug 9, 2016 in Auto News | Comments Off on Ferrari crushed by Mercedes in parallel parking mishap

Published August 08, 2016 FoxNews.com Facebook255 Twitter175 livefyre61 Email Print (Ferrari) The latest cars from Mercedes-Benz are available with self-parking systems that can autonomously steer them into a space without hitting anything. Unfortunately for one Virginia woman, that technology wasn’t available in the 1980’s. The driver of a Mercedes-Benz 380 SL had some trouble parallel parking at the Great Falls Cars and Coffee gathering on August 6th, when she backed up into and onto the hood of a Ferrari....

By Gary Gastelu Published August 02, 2016 FoxNews.com Facebook26 Twitter7 livefyre22 Email Print The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica is the archetypal family car, but it may also be the ultimate dudemobile. It’s available with six reclining seats, a Blu-Ray player, three TVs, surround sound, Wi-Fi, two skylights and a built-in vacuum. Does your call have all that? Does your bachelor pad? It’s doubtful, especially the last one. But you know you wish that it did. The Pacifica is the latest...

Posted by admin on May 17, 2016 in Auto News | Comments Off on Barely-driven 1974 VW Beetle barn find up for auction

Published May 16, 2016 FoxNews.com Facebook5246 Twitter176 livefyre203 Email Print (Silverstone Auctions) Remember the little old lady from Pasadena who only drove her car to church on Sundays? Well, Armando Sgroi was an old man from Genoa, Italy, who bought a VW Beetle in 1974 to drive to services when the hills near his home got too tough for him to walk. Related Image Expand / Contract (Silverstone Auctions) According to Silverstone Auctions, it was a very short trip...